Strolling around Nafplion Greece

 

Strolling around Nafplion Greece

Our next to last stop on this fabulous journey lands us in the seaside town of Nafplion.  It was founded in antiquity and became an important seaport in the Middle Ages.  It changed hands several times over the centuries and is now the capitol of the regional unit of Argolis and is an important tourist destination.

 As we arrived in Nafplion, our eyes were drawn up – to what is the Palamidi Fortress. It was built during the Venetian occupation in the early 19^th century and consists of eight bastions, each of which is self-contained.  Our partners in travel, Nancy and Lonnie, decided to climb the 999 steps to reach the fortress.  Jeff and I decided to opt for a much easier stroll around the town!!

As we started strolling down one sort of boulevard, we came across the First Marble Sculpting Symposium.  Here are some of the sculptures we saw, named (from the left, clockwise) Idolion, Liberty, Bouboulina and The Angel of the Virgin.  It was nice to just appreciate the art, even if we didn’t understand it!

After seeing the sculptures, we saw some cafés and charming looking hotels that also encircled a central park of sorts.  We weren’t quite hungry enough for lunch, so we didn’t stop.

In the actual park in the center of the boulevard, there was a statue, but I couldn’t find a sign to tell us this individual’s name.  However, surrounding it were rose bushes and orchid trees.

After we wandered through the park, more scenic streets opened up to us, with lots of shops on either side of the pedestrian traffic only streets.  Our lunch spot was ahead on the right in the image on the right!

We had quite the lovely lunch, with an impressive view of another part of Nafplion, a nice shade tree to keep us comfortably cool, and even a visitor more than willing to share our lunch with us!  Both lunch and the wine were tasty!

Before heading back to the ship, we decided to stroll around the pier area.  The boat is a tourist boat that would take folks to and from the Venetian castle that sat in the harbor.  It was originally called “Castello dello Soglio”.  The name that has ultimately prevailed is Bourtzi, which in Turkish means “Island – Fortress”.  Although it started its life as a castle, it was also used as a prison and the residence of the executioners of Palamidi, the fortress I mentioned initially.  Later it offered housing to the Greek government.  It was also a luxury hotel and restaurant, but today, it’s only open for tours.

Here’s another view of the harbor and sea from the shore before we headed back to the ship.  This was a lovely way to enjoy our last port of call before we disembarked.  But we have one more exploration to share!

Enjoy!